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Fish theft

Mark Mole

Senior Member
Are there any proactive people I can contact to report fish theft. Has anyone any experience of reports being followed up,or would I be wasting my time.
 
Hi men,

I reported a taking of fish live from the bank to the EA , waste of time , next time it would be the police and i would say they had a weapon, they would have to turn up. Its a hard one really , police are stretched and one EA officer to hundreds of square miles .
Funny really as today im buying my carte de perche licence for France , if caught over there doing something not quiet right its fines and even taking tackle .

Hatter
 
Hi men,

I reported a taking of fish live from the bank to the EA , waste of time , next time it would be the police and i would say they had a weapon, they would have to turn up. Its a hard one really , police are stretched and one EA officer to hundreds of square miles .
Funny really as today im buying my carte de perche licence for France , if caught over there doing something not quiet right its fines and even taking tackle .

Hatter
Cheers Mark.

My first session out for 8 weeks and I'm confronted with low life parasites. Thought it strange at dusk when they drove past,turned around and went back past without communicating. Left early after feeling uneasy and found them near the exit. Minimal tackle,but many large buckets between the three of them. How they managed to get them in a small Peugeot I'll never know.
 
Hi men,

If you contact the EA they will tell you the procedure regarding the police , but thats only if they are doing it when your there . I had them on the river , beach / sea rods , carrier bags , and i really regret not phoning the police or taking a photo of the van , but at the time so much was going on that you can forget things in the moment .

Hatter
 
Fish cannot be stolen from a river as they are deemed to be "wild and free to roam". Theft can only occur when a person or organisation's property is involved.
There are by laws relating to the taking of fish (check EA website). These vary according to area.
Clubs can have rules stating that no fish are to be taken but it's pretty un-enforceable as the police will not enforce the rules of a club. In other words it is like asking the police to referee a football match on the village green.
Migratory species (salmon, sea trout etc) are however a different case, again refer to the EA website.
Report all illegal activity on the EA hotline 0800 807060. Remember if you don't report it it didn't happen.
 
so the offence you report to police would be theft of fishing rights on a river, as said river fish are free to roam. a club can enforce there own rule of fish theft on a river but its difficult as said.
 
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